Lines Erased
by Niah-Miyoki
Summary: It's my first time moving since I was Changed. Iwnis is the perfect town for a vampire; rainy, relatively empty, easy to hide in. But of course, I just HAD to meet HIM. Keeping my secret is hard, especially when he seems to have one as well...
1. The best laid plans

My vision was blurring- darkness creeping in from the corners of my eyes. The flaming pain was so hot it felt cold. It seared through my body, but I couldn't scream. "Help me…" I muttered weakly, the agony tingeing my voice as I asked for help. Who was I talking to? It couldn't be the red-eyed man who had sunk his fangs into my skin and caused all this pain. He glared down at me, before turning away and disappearing. I was left in the freezing cold fire within me. I wanted to die. Why wasn't I dying? The pain intensified, until I no longer could grasp what level of pain it was, what pain itself was. This was something more, something much more terrible….

0o0o0o0o0

I pressed my face against the window, observing the people below as they scuttled about, readying the plane for take-off. Sighing with discomfort, I pushed the back of the chair as far as it could go- which wasn't very far- and closed my eyes. If only it were possible for me to sleep… but I couldn't anymore. Not since I became a vampire. I was relatively new, Maureen had told me. I didn't know if that was still the case, after not hearing from her in decades. I did know, however, that I couldn't pose as a thirty-year-old woman, not that I was really forty years old, but because I still looked twenty. That's how old I was when I was changed. It was time for me to move to another city, somewhere farther off. Iwnis, Washington.

The elderly woman beside me was sleeping, her head lolling to the side. I held my breath. The scent of blood… it was everywhere. The scorching in my throat flared dimly. I was pretty good at controlling myself now, but if anyone bled, even though I'd just hunted before I left for the airport, I didn't know what I'd do. The plane began to rumble as it backed away, turning sluggishly towards the runway. The flight attendant went through the safety procedures, even though no one was really paying attention. I let out another soft sigh and stared out the window again. The plane stubbornly crawled forward for nearly five minutes, jerking a few times. When it began barreling forward, I pulled down the window-shade.

I made a disgruntled noise as the plane dropped suddenly, then pressed forward on its climb over the clouds. It rocked and plunged quickly as it strained upward. Even though I would've survived has the plane crashed, I was still unnerved. I lifted the window-shade a little, gulping as the plane jerked again. _C'mon, plane_, I goaded silently, _make it up alright_. Once the plane had finally gotten over the clouds, I relaxed and shut the window-shade again, closing my eyes and laying back.

The trip would be an hour long. The woman beside me was switched between leafing through the SkyMall magazine, reading People, and sleeping. I played with a curl in my hair, the only one amongst my wavy auburn locks. The stewardess announced that she would be coming by with refreshments and a snack. Bitterness smoldered inside me. Food reminded me of the times I was human. If only I were human again… no, I wasn't going through this again. I had to accept what I was-

"Excuse me, miss?" I looked up in surprise to see the stewardess standing with her cart beside my row. "What would you like?"

"Nothing for me, please," I replied as pleasantly as I could, but by her puzzled expression I supposed some of my animosity had crept into my tone. I was thankful when she continued on down the aisle. I ignored the woman beside me, who was happily drinking some tomato juice and crunching on trail mix.

The flight seemed very long. After what seemed like years the stewardess announced that the pilot had begun his downward descent. I snapped my seat buckle back on as the Fasten Seatbelt button lit up with a bass ding. It took another twenty minutes before the plane actually started to dip below the ocean of feathery clouds. I cast a longing glance at them one last time as the plane jumped down towards the earth. I watched as the world below grew faster and faster, until I could see the miniscule cars putting along down a highway. Of course, with my heightened vampire senses I could see them even before we'd dropped, but still. The plane passed over forests and developments before the runway was suddenly there, and with a couple of great jolts it landed.

I shouldered my tote bag as the others began to pour into the aisle. The woman beside me sat in her seat for a while until half the passengers were gone. I was grateful when she finally rose and settled into the line. I followed suit, waiting patiently until I was finally freed from the cramped aisle. I let out my breath, feeling triumphant that I hadn't gone crazy packed in so tightly with the alluring scent of blood everywhere.

Vivian sat as still as a doll by the terminal's exit. She looked like a doll, though- her long black hair in tight curls, her skin porcelain-smooth and white as ash. Even her clothes were neat and somewhat old fashioned. She turned her crystalline gold eyes to me as I neared her. "Good to see you, Kristine," she greeted happily, her still face sliding into a perfect smile.

"It's only been one day," I laughed, leaning over and hugging her. Vivian had only been fourteen when she was changed nearly sixty years ago, and she was short for her age, so she looked rather young and immature. But she was far from it- she was deep and cautious and quiet.

Since it was my first time changing cities since I had become a vampire, Vivian suggested I move with her to her house in Iwnis. She would join her friend Maureen, who had practically raised me once I had become a vampire. Maureen was nearly forty years old when she was changed, yet, like all vampires, she was just as beautiful as any younger woman. Far more, actually, but we never valued beauty. It would never cease to annoy me how people would gawk and chatter about me as I passed by. Any human would long for attention such as that.

"Sorry I'm late, the plane took longer than I expected to get off the ground."

"You wouldn't have been _late_ even if the plane touched down years from now."

I laughed. "I'll never be as patient as you, even if I live to be a thousand."

"That's very possible," Vivian replied impassively, without a hint of humor.

"Should we be off now?" I asked, changing the uncomfortable subject.

"I suppose," she answered with a sigh, then added quietly, "My patience does have a limit, whenever a long wait can be avoided. Buses are so slow. Maybe we should just run to Maureen's."

"We should lay low; after all, we just got here," I scolded under my breath.

She rolled her eyes and grinned slightly, a morbid grin. We walked through the gleaming marble lobby out to the parking lot, which wasn't quite so extravagant as the inside of the terminal and airport as a whole. The bus whined to a stop, puffing and choking as it waited for passengers. People flooded into the bus through the narrow sliding door. We got in last. The seats were all full, some people standing with a grip on the rails above. Upon our passing two men shot up and offered us their seats with coy smiles.

"Thank you," I replied quickly, and their expression of embarrassment turned to wonder. My smile faltered as I sat in the chair, turning my attention to the window and trying to ignore the glances the other passengers were giving us.

"This bus should only take about ten minutes," I commented to Vivian.

She grimaced. "I could walk home faster." I few eavesdropping passengers chuckled, but my face hardened at the sincerity in her tone.

I turned my attention back to the window. We passed by a large, cream colored stone building with a full parking lot. The sign by the entrance declared "Joyce High School". It flashed by and out of sight quickly. My expression shifted to one of wonder. I hadn't been to school in decades. Not that I had ever needed to go- I could remember all the lessons from high school as a human. I'd even spent a few years in college. But I had some desire to just be there, to be around humans once again in a familiar environment and fell… normal. As normal as I could feel.

Vivian turned to gaze at me. I could tell my longing was being picked up. She had the ability to sense the condition of others- if someone was sick, she'd know. If someone was lying, she would sense it. She looked in my direction, puzzled, trying to see what I was staring blankly at.

Neither of us talked for the rest of the trip. I was thankful when the bus finally screeched to a halt at the bus-stop. With a surge of joy I noticed Maureen standing beside the bench. I leapt from my chair and pushed through the crowd, jumping into her arms. "Maureen! It's so good to see you!" I gushed. She was like a mother to me, taking me in after I was changed and left out in the woods. She had to move soon after I was back on my feet, and now that it was my first time to move I went immediately to her.

"You look well," she exclaimed approvingly, her amber eyes glowing with the smile that lit up her whole face. "And Vivian, dear!" she exulted as the little vampire departed last from the bus. "It's good to see you, too!" Maureen grabbed her up in a hug; Vivian laughing with embarrassment.

"Are we going to your house now?" I asked, casting a nervous glance towards the cloudy sky. There was a break in the clouds that threatened to release the sunlight.

She nodded gravely. "It's going to be sunny for a while, so I'm afraid we'll all be stuck in my house."

I grinned. I had yet to see her Iwnis house. I remembered her house clearly from Carden, Michigan, an old-style mansion that had been in her "family" for hundreds of years. I remembered teasing her about how obvious it looked; a vampire in an old mansion, secluded on a dark hilltop by an ominous forest. She joked that it kept suitors away, which I hadn't found quite so funny.

"C'mon, let's go," Vivian coaxed us, lifting up my tote and her own in one hand, then thought about it and put it down. "Can you carry it?" she asked Maureen.

The old vampire nodded. "Less suspicious," she agreed, and flipped the bag easily onto her shoulder. I picked up my own and we veered right into the woods by the bus stop.

It felt good to stretch my legs after so long cramped up in vehicles and walking at humanly possible speeds. The three of us sped through the forest, our keen eyes catching each tree and root even as they passed by us at dizzying speeds.

I let my mind wander slightly, thinking of what the world would be like if humans knew the truth about vampires. Undoubtedly the panic rooms would be full to the brim, though even those wouldn't protect them from a vampire's astounding strength. We were put in a world that wasn't made for us, I thought glumly.

With a jolt I stopped, noticing that Maureen and Vivian had stopped. I looked up through the breaks in the trees and saw the sunlight begin to filter through them. Maureen cast a warning glance back at me, and I looked over her shoulder to see the end of the forest and, beyond that, the end of a cliff. Scattered orderly under the cliff's shadow was a well-to-do looking development with two-story buildings crafted expertly with sloping tiled roofs and carved pillars.

"You live in a development?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, you probably do to avoid suspicion, but that makes it harder to avoid detection."

Maureen laughed. "No worries," she replied, her voice as smooth as chocolate, "the street I live on is the very last one, on the rim of the development. And the only other houses on that street are empty." She paused and put a finger on her cheek. "They're apparently 'haunted'."

Me and Vivian grinned. "You're so bad," Vivian admonished jokingly.

The three of us began to leave again, but were distracted by the sunlight. It spilled down suddenly, not too bright but certainly bright enough. I looked nervously at my bare forearms, sparkling dimly as the sun's beams touched them.

"Get into the shade some more," Maureen instructed sternly, and I nodded curtly and side-stepped under a tall, nearly branchless tree. I hurriedly shrugged on the jacket tied around my waist in an attempt to blend in, and the other two did the same. I perked up slightly when somewhere nearby I thought I heard a twig snap. I swiveled my head in the noise's direction, pursing my lips as I breathed in slowly through my nose. No unusual smells, just a few squirrels and somewhere far off, a deer. Since neither Vivian nor Maureen had heard anything apparently, I dismissed the event and suggested we hurry while the sunlight was still dim.

We started off again at a slower, less conspicuous pace as we neared the edge of the cliff before sliding over the edge cautiously and letting go, falling freely until we hit the ground below with a loud booming thud. The earth below us had dented slightly, but we stood up and brushed ourselves off casually. Luckily the cliff was an easy jump, not more than a hundred feet up. I could tell which house was Maureen's – the one with its Christmas lights already up and running less than a month before the actual holiday. I grinned brightly and Maureen led us excitedly forward.


	2. Of mice and men

I situated myself in one of the cushy-looking chairs in Maureen's den. I wasn't tired or anything – vampires can't get tired. But it felt more natural for me. Maureen seated herself in a similar chair opposite me, and Vivian stood beside the glass coffee table. The room we were in was spacious, with a large, gray marble fireplace rising from the cherry wood flooring against one bleach-white wall. The roof and ceiling sloped up, giving the room a large, almost empty feel. A white close-cut rug with crème swirling patterns adorning the rim lay under the gray slab coffee table with sparkling glass decorated with magazines and a few cup holders. A set of white couches framed the rug, the beige chairs Maureen and I sat on perched on one end, one on each corner. I noticed the photographs on the mantle, and I couldn't help but get up and look at them.

One of them surprised me – one of a human Maureen. Even though the picture was in black and white and not the best quality, I noticed the apparent color in her cheeks and the lightness of her eyes. Her features were different – less sculpted, slender, smooth. She had light crow's feet and lines like parenthesis around her mouth. She looked relatively normal, though for a human she looked pretty.

"1870," she commented, coming up behind me. "I think. Cameras were a new thing back then." She smiled nostalgically. "I remember my father paid through the nose to get this taken for me. I didn't even want to, but this was a present for my fortieth birthday." She giggled. "I remember how appalled I was. It was so old to me then." Vivian laughed and I chuckled uncomfortably. Maureen looked at me knowingly with soft eyes and hugged be briefly. "Are you two hungry?"

"No, I just hunted before I left," I muttered.

"I'm kinda hungry," Vivian piped up hoarsely. I just noticed that her golden eyes were slightly darkened with thirst.

"You'll be okay here for a while?" Maureen asked me, and I nodded. "Let's go sweetie," she then said, taking Vivian's hand and leading her out to the back porch. "I think it's raining up there, but we should be okay." Their shoes squeaked against the polished floor and the porch railing twanged as they jumped off it. I waited until the sound of their footsteps crushing crisp blades of grass faded and all was still besides the trees in the distant forest swaying in the breeze and scratching each other, and the faint pattering of rain. I walked over to the wall facing the street, which was basically a large glass wall with a few reinforcing bars crisscrossing it. I watched curiously as a car pulled into the house across the street.

"I thought she said the other houses were abandoned?" I asked myself, stepping closer and pressing my hand against the glass gingerly. It was a jeep, and a muddy one at that. It had powerful tires, almost like an ATV, and it certainly didn't fit in with the house whose driveway it had just pulled into. I tilted my head to look better at the boy stepping out of it. He had dark skin for someone who lived in a cloudy town, but maybe he had moved here from somewhere like Florida. His dark hair was cropped messily around his ears, slightly longer in the back almost like a Mohawk. He looked back, as though feeling my gaze on his back.

Though the distance between us was a good while, as usual, my eyes could see him clearly as though he was standing right in front of me. His skin was dark but his eyes were light; a pale green color, with brown flecks in them. A strange form of hazel. He was rather tall and carried himself with a sense of dignity, though he had a modest face. His boots were muddy like his jeep. Suddenly, drops of rain began to fall on the roof. It must have been blowing over from the forest. I hoped Vivian would be alright; the animals must have been hiding in the rain, and she hadn't had anything to eat since she left Carden. My thoughts scattered quickly as the boy across the street looked up through the window. How rude, I thought, for someone to stare through another person's window. Especially in a high-class place like this one.

The glass wasn't tinted, and I realized he was looking at me. I immediately shook myself to reality and glowered at him slightly. The boy grinned broadly and I could feel the corner of my mouth tugging upward. I waved a dismissive hand and turned away from the window, paused, then flew down the stairs as quickly as I could. I tried to open the door casually and peered out. He was still there in the driveway, but he hadn't noticed I'd made it to the door. He stood staring up at the window for a while, then started to turn and walk towards his front door.

"Howdy, neighbor," I called. The boy stopped and turned to me. I jogged over at a human pace. He turned and sauntered back down the driveway and we met at the base of it. It was a long one with plain concrete, as compared to the pebbled driveway of Maureen's. I turned over thoughts in my head as I walked over to him, thinking of excuses as to why I was there.

"Hey," he said casually. "You're new, I'll gather. Either that or you've been locked up in a closet for a decade or so."

I laughed. It was amazing how normal he sounded, not dazzled like all the other guys I'd talked to before. It was refreshing. "No, I just got here." I continued quickly, "I'm staying with my Aunt Maureen for a while."

"Didn't think she had any family," the boy commented.

"Didn't think she had any neighbors," I replied honestly. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm Kristine by the way."

"Derek," he said, extending a hand. I hesitated, then shook it hastily.

"Your hands are cold." He laughed. "If that's not a weird thing to say."

"It's alright." I rocked on the balls of my feet. "Maureen said no one lived on this street but her. That it was 'haunted'."

"I'm not one to be superstitious," Derek said. "But I've been here for my whole life. Kind of insulting how Maureen talks like I've never been here."

"I'm sure it's nothing personal," I insisted.

"So what are you doing here?" he asked. I was thankful for the change in subject.

"My parents," I started, excuses rolling around in my head. "Well, my mom died when I was little, and my dad left me with his sister. She just died too, and we can't find my dad." How Disney-esque. "So, since I'm only seventeen," I added for good measure, "I was sent to my Aunt Maureen."

Derek winced. "Some people have it rough." His front door squeaked open and a dark woman stepped out.

"Derek, there you are," she scolded. "I was wondering where you were."

"I just went out for a ride," he replied, his tone annoyed. I giggled. "Oh, this is Kristine," he added, gesturing towards me. "Maureen's niece. She's moving in today."

"Nice to meet you, Kristine," the lady, supposedly Derek's mother, said warmly, but something about the way she looked at me unnerved me. "I'm sorry to pull Derek away, but he has homework."

"Where do you go?" I asked quickly.

"Joyce High." He shrugged. "It's a crappy public school down Joyce Road. Stupid name for a road, too."

"I'm guessing that's where I'll be going," I said with a triumphant smile. "See ya around?"

"Sure," Derek replied with a grin. He lifted his hand in a lazy wave as he turned to enter his house. His mother stood holding the door open for him, then turned, shot me a dark glance, and closed the door behind her. I ignored the ominous atmosphere and headed back into Maureen's house, where to my surprise Maureen and Vivian where waiting already.

"I see you've met the Bennetts…" Maureen said gravely as I emerged onto the second story.

"Yes…" I replied cautiously. "Are they bad news?"

"Let's just say Joan doesn't seem to like us." Maureen sat back in her chair and looked out the window, narrowing her eyes in the house's direction. I knew her well enough not to ask, so I sat beside Vivian and suggested we turn on the television.

After watching a bit of CSI (the Food Network, as Vivian joked) I moved and sat down next to Maureen. "Would it be alright to go to Joyce High?" I asked.

"Why on Earth?" she asked with a laugh. "Humans don't like school, so I don't see why a vampire would. Besides, you're supposed to be twenty, right? That's how old you were when you were… still human."

"I kinda already told Derek I was seventeen," I answered uneasily. "Besides, if they don't believe I'm seventeen… well, it won't be a problem either way." I exhaled loudly. I hated using my power – I could make people do whatever I wanted if I commanded them to. I never used it for everyday things, only dire emergencies. Maureen could tell I really wanted to go.

"I'll sign you up first thing tomorrow," she said with a smile.

"Thanks, Maureen." I gave her a long hug. "It's great to be with you again."

"Great to have you back," she responded. "Now, you might wanna fill me in on your story so I can play along as well. And Vivian…" The little vampire looked up. "I have to enroll you in elementary school to keep our cover." Vivian made a face and laughed, like the soft tinkling of bells. We all laughed together for almost no reason at all. It was just good to be with them all together again.


	3. Often go awry

Joyce High School wasn't anything grand; it was an old bunch of buildings, only two of which having a second story. It didn't have all the newest accommodations and it certainly wasn't glamorous. But I couldn't wait to go there.

I looked around the store. It was Wednesday, and my first day at Joyce High would be Thursday if we managed to get all the paperwork finished. Of course, since I was born in 1961, I didn't have the right paperwork to get into a high school; or any school, for that matter. Luckily, Maureen knew of someone who could help vampires with those kind of things. I just didn't trust him much.

The man, who called himself Fish for some strange reason, had scraggly black hair, but being a vampire even that didn't affect how handsome he looked. He had caramel-colored skin, smooth and shining, and his good eye was a piercing red. He wore a patch over his left eye. This, mixed in with his hair and his old, patchy clothes and his suspicious personality, made him an unsavory character as is.

"Hey Fish," Maureen greeted happily. I continued to observe the store, trying to ignore their conversation. It was disguised as some sort of knick-knack store that specialized in fishing and hunting-related items. Maybe he liked to fish. I don't know. I picked up what looked like a stuffed guppy, then placed it back down roughly.

"You break it you buy it," Fish commented without looking. I huffed in response and sat on a well-worn couch. A gigantic stuffed marlin was perched beside me, its glass eyeballs seemingly trained on me. God, I couldn't wait to get out of there.

"I'll need you for a sec," Fish called to me. "New driver's license photo." I sighed and stood up, allowing Fish to lead me around back to the "storage" room, where he kept all his forgery equipment. I tried to smile as he clicked a picture of me in front of a white blanket. He popped the film out of the camera and allowed me to wait in the store again. I sat motionless for a while, then attempted to engage Vivian in some cheerful conversation.

"So, you excited to get into school again?" I asked, offering a friendly smile.

"I doubt I'll be dumb enough for whatever grade I get stuck in," she replied impassively. I frowned playfully.

"I'm sure you'll find a way," I chuckled, getting a giggle and a shove from Vivian.

"Almost ready guys," Maureen called back.

Fish's laugh sounded like a soft rumbling. "Nice girls you've got," he said.

"Thank you," Maureen replied proudly. "I've raised them since they were Changed."

After a moment of clacking on a keyboard and scribbling on papers, Fish finally handed the necessary papers to Maureen. "There you go. Birth certificates, a driver's license for Ms. Kristine, et cetera."

"Thanks so much Fish," Maureen gushed.

"No prob." He winked. Or maybe blinked. I couldn't tell. The three of us scuffled out of the store quickly. I held my tongue, knowing that Fish could hear anything I said for quite a ways away. It had begun to snow when we were in the store. Maureen slipped me the driver's license and I stowed it quickly in the purse I'd brought with me. We had parked in a nearby shore-side shopping center, so Maureen decided to take us clothes-shopping. After all, we hadn't brought much with us from our previous house, since we would be moving back there in one hundred years or so, and we'd never grow out of any of it.

The first store we hit was a small Wal-Mart, with not much of a variety for girls. It was all pink and lace. I wrinkled my nose at the Hannah Montana bras they had the gall of selling. Vivian, however, was perfectly fine with the frilly purple stripes and spots. Though she was quiet and seemed mature, inside she was still that little fourteen year old girl. She bought lots of dresses and skirts, a few new pairs of boots and some new tights. It took two carts to fill Vivian's need. I, however, had a few plain t-shirts and two jeans hooked onto one arm and a pair of sneakers tucked under the other. I assured Maureen that I would come back alter and get more, as it seemed there wasn't much room left.

We wheeled the carts to a relatively open line and waited patiently. Vivian flipped through a People magazine, catching each article as the page flipped and storing it to remember later. I leaned casually against the handle bar of my cart and leafed through a Reader's Digest, while Maureen stood behind her cart and drummed her fingers against it in tune to some song she was thinking of. Oh yeah. We blended right in. I even looked over at an iPod and asked if I could have one, though I knew money was certainly not an issue for a vampire. We just kept things for years and years, and then sell them when they become of the "collectable" status.

"Sure sweetie," Maureen said pleasantly. "Can you get one for your sister, please?"

"Pink please," Vivian piped up without looking. I plucked one pink and one blue iPod from the shelf. It made me wonder what the next best thing would be once these things became ancient relics on eBay. If eBay was still around.

A steady line was building behind us as the cashier scanned all the clothes with a dazed look on her face. I could see the mental debate plainly on the people's faces as they wheeled over near us, not wanting to wait for as long as we would take but wanting to get a better look at us. I exhaled angrily and turned away, focusing on Vivian's new clothes on their journey to the plastic bags that thanked us for shopping there.

After what felt like an eternity the final shirt was crushed into a bag with my shoes and stacked precariously on the top of the stack. The cashier gave us an exhausted 'have a nice day' and turned to the next person with a reluctant sigh.

Maureen piled the stuff into the trunk and back seats of her SUV, and Vivian buckled herself up in the middle section. I hopped into shotgun. With that done we parked near the rocky shore and hopped out. "I haven't seen the ocean in forever!" Vivian exclaimed, a little smile stealing over her red lips.

"Me neither!" I breathed, a white cloud occurring from my statement. I realized that I probably should have dressed warmer to blend in better, but I didn't give a second thought to it. My shoes crunched the thin layer of snow that had fallen as I stepped closer to the cliff edge that overlooked the still gray ocean. There sure were a lot of cliffs here.

I heard the crunching of snow again, but it wasn't Maureen or Vivian. We looked over as a familiar Jeep screeched to a halt beside us. "Derek!" I called happily. Sure enough, Derek jumped out of the driver's seat and came over to us.

"Hey Kris," he greeted. "Hello, Ms. Maureen. And… who's this?" He looked curiously at Vivian.

"My sister," I replied quickly. "Vivian, this is Derek."

"Ah, I can tell she's your sister. Same eyes." Derek shook Vivian's hand. "Aren't you cold without mittens?" he asked her. Vivian shook her head.

Maureen tried to smile pleasantly. "What are you doing way out here, Derek?"

Derek laughed. "Oh, my mom made me to pick up our mail from the post office. Our mailbox still isn't fixed yet." Now that he mentioned it, I didn't remember seeing one.

"Well, I'm starting school tomorrow," I piped. "Joyce High, like I said."

Derek grinned broadly like he always did. "Awesome! I'll be sure to give you a tour. I hang out in the courtyard in the mornings. You'll know where that is when you see it." He checked his watch fretfully. "Well, I better get home soon or my mom'll kill me. Later, Kris! See ya tomorrow. Bye Ms. Maureen! Vivian!" And with that he hopped back into his jeep and was off again.

"Don't get too close to that boy," Maureen warned forebodingly.

"Yeah, alright," I muttered.

"I felt something strange about him," Vivian added. "He was nervous, sorta guilty. I don't think he's allowed to talk to you either."

"What is it with them and you, Maureen?" I asked suddenly. "They aren't vampires. Do they know that we are?" I kept my voice low.

Maureen pursed her lips and shook her head. "I'm not sure myself. But I know they don't trust us, and aren't to be trusted themselves. Please, keep away from them." Her last words took on a pleading tone.

I hesitated. The first friend I made here and I'm suddenly not allowed to talk to him. "Alright," I sighed. Maureen sighed, reassured, and got back into the car.

"You're lying," Vivian whispered. I shushed her and got back into the passenger seat.

* * *

Shortest chapter yet. And yes, I've seen Hannah Montana bras at Wal-Mart. I was thoroughly disturbed. I like Fish. He's cool. I'll try to use him again.


End file.
